Warning signal for cooling systems of automobiles



March 31, 1942. D. R. MORRIS 2,273,279

WARNING SIGNAL FOR COOLING SYSTEMS OF AUTOMOBILES Filed March 3, 1939INVENTOR ralellMorris ATTORNEY M lbw/fa? Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE NVARNIN G SIGNAL FOR COOLING SYSTEMS OF AUTOMOBILESDale R. Morris, Greenville; Ohio Application March 3, 1939, Serial No.259,682

'1 Claim.

This invention relates to warning signals for coolingsystems of motorvehicles.

An object of the invention is the provision of a device for warning theoperator of a motor driven vehicle thatthe level of the liquid in thecooling system has fallen below a predetermined level and in which avisible or audible signal is brought into operation by the closing of aswitch of an electric circuit, the switchbeing. closed by the falling ofthe cooling. liquid in a container which is located at a predeterminedlevel of the liquidin the cooling system a floatbeing disposed -withinthe container and having an operating rod for maintaining theswitch openduringnormal conditions .but permitting the switch to close underabnormal conditions.

Another'object of the invention is the .provision of a device givingavisible or audible indication to theoperator of amotor vehicle that thefluid inthe: cooling system has dropped below a predetermined level, allof the elements for controlling the indicator being located atrapredetermined level of the liquid in the coolingsystem soathat when theliquid in the unit falls below .the predetermined level aufloat in .the:unit will be lowered forreleasing a switch to closing position for an:electric circuit.

A- furtherobject ofthe invention is the provision of adevice forgivingvisible or audible indications to the operator of amotor driven vehiclefor warning the operator that the liquid in the cooling system of themotor has dropped below a predetermined level, the device beingembodiedin a compact unit located at a predetermined height sothat when thelevel of the liquid in the cooling system falls below such height asignal will be set in operation, the unit including a container 'whichisin communication with the cooling system at a point adjacent the'inletside of the water pump for supplying the liquid to the container whilethe outlet of the container is directed to the top of the radiatorfiller neck.

. This'invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description,-in view of the accompanying drawingsform:

ing' a part of the specification; nevertheless, it

is to be understood that'the invention is not confined'to thedisclosure, being susceptible of such changes and modifications asdefine no material departure-from the salient features of the inventionas expressed in the I appended claims.

In the drawing: 1 Figure Us a side view in elevation of an auto-.mobileitengine showing my s invention applied =thezeto, 1

Figure 2-is a vertical section of a unit including the importantfeatures of the invention,

Figure 3 is a side view of the unit shown in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2,and

Figure 5 is an enlarged view partly in section of the operating elementsof the device.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, Ill designates a motor ofany well known type which may be employed -in a tractor, truck, bus,passenger automobile, stationaryengine, or any other type of motor whichis adapted to be cooled with a liquid. The motor has the associatedradiator ll, water pump 12, inlet connections I3 between the radiatorand the cylinder block of the engine and an'outlet connection betweenthe. upper end of the cylinder. block :and the upper end of'theradiator.

Upon the instrument panel l5 of the. motor .vehicle is mounted a lamp IEor any other type of. warning signal. The usual switch lock ll operatedby a key I8. is also locatedon the instrument panel. A wire 19 isconnectedbetween the switch I1 and a contact 20. A wire 2| is connectedbetween a .contact of the lamp I6 and a contact 22, as shown. moreparticularly in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. When the device is used on a tractororiother typeof vehicle which is not equipped with a battery, a wirel9is attached'tothe magneto in such a manner thatthe magneto will beshorted and thusv stop .the motor.

A container 23, which may be formed of any suitable material, such. asglass or metal, is supported by'meansoi a U-shaped hanger 24 and a coverplate 25 which has a flange -26 adapted to be secured in any approvedmanner to a fixed part of the m'otorvehicle as will be presentlyexplained.v In the present instance the container 23 is secured to theinstrument panel approximately midway between the top of the cylinderhead and the top of .theradiator supply. The connection of the containerwith some part of the motor equipment or part of the vehicle isimmaterial since it will work just as well if located adjacent the.radiator I l as it does when it is connected with the dash 21. Theheight of: the container on the other. hand relative to the normal waterlevel inthe cooling systemis important because a decrease in the heightof the water level of the cooling system will set the apparatus inoperation.

. A tube 28, shown more particularly in Fig. l,

istzconnected to theinlet side of the. pump [2 lwhereathe pressureofazthe ifiuid in the 2 cooling system is low and may not amount to morethan one pound. This tube extends to a valve casing 29 and a short tube30 connects the valve casing with a nipple 3! which is threaded throughthe bottom of the container 23 and projects above the inner surface ofthe bottom of said container as shown at 32. Any well known form ofunion 33 may be employed for connecting the tube with the nipple 3 l Avalve is located within the casi g and is operated by a handle 34 forcutting off the flow of liquid to the container 23.

A tube 35 is secured to the closure H and this tube carries a hollowhead 35 into which a pipe 31 is secured. A valve casing connects thepipe 31 with a pipe 33 and the last-mentioned pipe is connected at 4Bwith he radiator filler neck M or to a high point in the radiator l l Inthe newer types of automobiles the water pumps on the inlet side areprovided with a nipple for making connections with a hot water heaterand where desired the tube 28 connected with this nipple.

A valve is located within the casing and is operated by a handle 42 forcutting off the out-- let pipe 39 between the container 23 and theradiator II when desired.

A switch box generally designated by the nu moralis secured to theclosure 25 by means of wing nuts M which are threaded onto the free endsof the U-shaped hanger lit. The ends of the U-shaped hanger, as shown inFig. 2, pass through perforations in the closure 25 and flanged ends 41which extend from the box 45. This box is also provided with an opening43 through i which the wires I9 and 2| pass.

A plate formed of insulating material is secured to the closure 25 inany approved manner and the spaced contacts 20 and 22 are secured to thesaid plate.

A switch arm 5| has depending ears 52 which are pivoted at 53 upon theupper end of the contact 22. The outer free end of this arm is providedwith a weight 54 for maintaining the arm in its lowermost position. Astrip of insulating material 55 is secured to the underface of the arm5| in any approved manner, and is adapted to normally engage anoperating rod 58.

A disc 51 is located within the container 23 below the closure or coverplate 2'5 and the lower end is provided with an upstanding annular boss58 disposed concentrically of the center of th disc 51 and forming acup-shaped member. A packing 5!) is located within the cup-shaped memberand embraces the stem or rod 56 which is secured to the center of thedisc 51.

A bushing 80 is threaded into an opening at the center of the coverplate 25 and also through the plate 50. A nut El is screwed onto theouter projecting end of the bushing while a sleeve 62 is threaded ontothe inner end of the bushing so that the bushing will be locked inposition on the plate 25. The inner end of the sleeve 82 is free ofthreads and neatly engages the outer cylindrical wall of the cup-shapedvalve member 53. The inner end of the bushing 60, as shown at is roundedand engages the upper end of a packing 59 which is formed of elastic orcompressible material which will act as a seal when engaged by therounded portion 53 ot the bushing 63 and prevent liquids from thecontainer 23 escaping through the closure 25.

Disposed within the container 23 is a screen 65 and this screen is inthe to m of a cylinder with a bottom 66 which is also made of a materialill or" fine mesh so that when the liquid enters the bottom of thecontainer it must pass up through the screen before it reaches a floatThe float be of any well known type and is provided with a contactingsurface 68 adapted to engage the underface of the disc St for raisingsaid disc and likewise the rod 5 3 when the liquid in the container 23rises to a predetermined height.

as has been stated, the container 22 is located at a predeterminedheight with respect to the level of the liquid of the cooling system ofthe eng"-'ie and this height is such that when the switch it is closedthe lamp H or other indicating means will be set in operation until theengine has been started when the liquid in the cooling system will beput in circulation. When the water has been sufficiently heated it willrise within the container and elevate the float 67 whereby the switcharm ill will be raised out of engagement with the contact 23, thereby"coking the circuit to the lamp it. It is imint to note that the normalposition of the .11 El when the engine is cool is in the lowermostposition, as shown in Fi 2 while when the cooling system is at theproper level and when the engine is operated the arm til will be in theposition shown in 5.

When the level of the liquid in the cooling, system falls below apredetermined point suiticient liquid will not enter the container 23for raising the float 6?. Therefore, the weight 54 will maintain the armiii in its lowermost position for engagement with the contact 29 so thatthe lamp ill will be in operation. This will be a warning to theoperator of the vehicle that it is necessary to supply additional fluidto the cooling system. This warning, however, is given to the operatorof the vehicle before the level of the liquid falls below apredetermined height and before the thermometer or other visibleindicator on the instrument panel will disclose a high temperature ofthe cooling fluid.

When it is found that the lamp I5 is lighted after liquid has been addedto the radiator then it may be necessary to remove the screen and cleanthe same of foreign matter. Below the bottom olthe screen a spongymaterial in may be located between the bottom of the container 13 inorder to aid in the filtering of the cooling fluid. "When this is doneit may be only necessary to cleanse the spongy material 10 of foreignmatter. In the event that the temperature gauge on the instrument panelshould show that the liquid in the cooling system is being heatedunnecessarily and the lamp 56 has not given such indication, the lampshould be tested and if it has been burnt out it should be renewed. Ifon the other hand, the lamp is in good condition and it is known thatthe screen 65 is clean, then the operator of the car should look fortrouble in some other element of the cooling system.

A hose 23 has been connected with the inlet side of the motor 12 wherethe pressure may not rise above one pound. On the other hand if it whereconnected with the outlet side of the pump t2 the pressure may rise totwenty pounds or more and thus the level of the liquid in the container23 would be maintained at a level which would prevent lighting of thelamps I5 under abnormal conditions of an inadequate supply of coolingliquid in the system.

The pipe 72 is in communication with the tube 23 adjacent the inlet endof the pump and also is in communication with the connection 13 betweenthe cylinder block and the outlet pipe 14. The pipe I2 connects the pipe28 with the outlet connection 13 of the Water jacket of the engine and avalve 14 controls communication between the outlet end 13 and. the pipe28 when it is found that the pressure at theinlet side of the pump I2 isnot sufilcient to force the cooling liquid through the pipe 28 to thecontainer 23 and thence through the pipe 39. The connections 12 and thevalve 14 are only employed in the earlier types of automobile engineswhere the inlet side of the pump does not develop sufiicient pressurefor the purpose.

When it is found that the pressure of the pump H at the inlet end is notsufficient to force the fluid through the sponge l and into thecontainer 23, and also through the screened cap 32a for raising thefloat 61, the valve 14 is opened so that the pressure at the outlet endof the cooling system is transmitted to the fluid in the pipe 28 forboosting up the pressure on the liquid in the pipe 28 so that the liquidwill rise in the container 23.

The liquid must be forced through the sponge or other filtering materialand thence through the screen 65 where the level of the liquid caneffect the rise and fall of the float 61.

The greater part of the filtering is done by the sponge or othersuitable filtering material Ill while the cup-shaped screen 65 maintainsthe filter material in the lower part of the casing 23 in order toprovide a chamber at the upper end of the casing so that the liquid cancontrol the movement of the float 61. Dependence, however, of the member10 as a fllter is relied upon rather than the screen 15 because by theremoval of the screen the filtering material may also be removed andwashed and then replaced.

I claim:

In a warning signal for cooling systems of automobiles, a containeradapted to be secured in position adjacent the normal level of the fluidin the cooling system, a cover for the container having an openingtherein, a float in the container, a switch operating rod projectingthrough the opening in the cover and having the inner end engaging thefloat, a lever formed of conducting material and pivoted at one end onthe cover and insulated therefrom, insulating material secured to theunderface of the lever and resting on the projecting end of the rod, acontact secured to and insulated from the cover, the free end of thelever adapted to engage the contact when the rod is lowered, a sleevesecured to the underface of the cover, a bushing secured to the coverlocated Within the sleeve and slidably receiving the rod, a cup-shapedmember secured to the upper face of the float, received by the sleeveand cooperating with the bushing for maintaining the rod in verticalalinement with the insulating material on the lever.

DALE R. MORRIS.

